Ibu pejabat Amnesty International di London (The headquarters of Amnesty International in London (Imej dari/Image from maps.google.com – think IN pictures @1WORLD Community)
JohnnyAdam – Pertubuhan hak asasi manusia Amnesty International telah meng-isytiharkan ia akan mengambil tindakan undang-undang terhadap perkhidmatan keselamatan British. Amnesty mendakwa panggilan yang telah dipintas oleh agensi perisikan UK.
“Sebagai sebuah organisasi global mengusahakan pelbagai isu-isu sensitif yang akan menjadi kepentingan tertentu kepada perkhidmatan keselamatan di Amerika Syarikat dan United Kingdom, kami amat bermasalah dengan prospek bahawa komunikasi kakitangan kami mungkin telah dipintas,” Michael Bochenek, pengarah Amnesty ini undang-undang dan dasar memberitahu Guardian.
Kumpulan itu telah mengeluarkan satu tuntutan di Tribunal Kuasa penyiasatan (IPT) mengatakan bahawa tindakan yang didakwa oleh perisikan UK akan melanggar Artikel 8 (hak untuk privasi) dan perkara 10 (hak untuk kebebasan bersuara) Akta Hak Asasi Manusia.
“Kami kerap menerima maklumat sensitif daripada sumber-sumber dalam situasi yang bermakna kerjasama mereka dengan Amnesty boleh menimbulkan risiko sebenar kepada keselamatan mereka dan keselamatan keluarga mereka,” kata Bochenek .
Amnesty juga telah menuntut bahawa IPT mengadakan pendengaran awam proses - bertentangan dengan amalan biasa badan mengkaji aduan secretively dan dengan cara yang tidak terkawal.
“Ia akan menjadi ironi yang tidak masuk akal jika siasatan pengawasan yang telah dijalankan secara rahsia itu sendiri rahsia,” kata Bochenek.
Ini bukan kes hanya sesebuah organisasi menyaman perkhidmatan keselamatan ke atas akses yang tidak dibenarkan kepada data mereka. Kumpulan Liberty,hak asasi manusia Privasi Antarabangsa dan Big Brother Watch telah mengambil isu itu ke mahkamah, dan prosiding undang-undang sedang dijalankan.
Ini adalah yang terbaru di kalangan kes-kes yang dibawa ke mahkamah ekoran pendedahan Edward Snowden ini.
Langkah itu Amnesty ini mengikuti ayat-ayat yang British GCHQ (Ibu Pejabat Komunikasi Kerajaan) dan NSA (National Security Agency) di Amerika Syarikat telah menggunakan program-program untuk mengakses data dan syarikat pengguna di Internet. Program-program termasuk PRISM dan sementa , dan boleh mengambil dalam jumlah yang besar maklumat yang dikongsi antara kedua-dua negara.
Amnesty to sue United Kingdom Intelligence Over
Intercepted Emails, Phone Calls . . .
Human rights organization Amnesty International has declared it will take legal action against British security services. Amnesty claims its calls have been intercepted by UK intelligence agencies.
"As a global organization working on many sensitive issues that would be of particular interest to security services in the US and UK, we are deeply troubled by the prospect that the communications of our staff may have been intercepted," Michael Bochenek, Amnesty’s director of law and policy told the Guardian.
The group has issued a claim at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) saying that the alleged actions by UK intelligence would be in breach of article 8 (right to privacy) and article 10 (right to freedom of expression) of the Human Rights Act.
"We regularly receive sensitive information from sources in situations that mean their co-operation with Amnesty could present a real risk to their safety and the safety of their family," Bochenek said.
Amnesty has also demanded that the IPT hold public hearings of the process – contrary to the body’s usual practice of reviewing the complaints secretively and in an unregulated manner.
"It would be a ridiculous irony if the investigation into surveillance that has been carried out in secret was itself secret," Bochenek said.
This is not the only case of an organization suing security services over unauthorized access to their data. Human rights groups Liberty, Privacy International and Big Brother Watch have taken the issue to court, and legal proceedings are underway.
This is the latest among cases taken to court in the wake of Edward Snowden’s disclosures.
The Amnesty’s move follows revelations that British GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) and the NSA (National Security Agency) in the US have been using programs to access the users’ and companies’ data on the Internet. The programs include PRISM and Tempora, and can take in huge amounts of information shared between the two countries.
